FASHION giant Next launched its new next-day delivery service in Northern Ireland yesterday - and has created 50 jobs in the process.
The chain has opened a massive warehouse and packing operation in Mallusk, the first such facility outside Britain.
From there, it will deliver hundreds of thousands of items, and the company pledges that orders placed by 10pm will arrive the next day.
"This is a significant and exciting investment for us," a spokesman for Next told The Irish News yesterday.
"Our new site, which operates 24/7, houses more than 75,000 items at any time and has the capacity to hold around half a million pieces.
"When a customer confirms an order, it will be picked up and packed on site within two hours and passed on to our delivery teams for immediate onward despatch."
She added: "Picked items are then replenished within 24 hours from Next sites in Yorkshire and are transported via ferry from Scotland on a daily basis."
Next employs 6,000 staff across eight distribution centres in the UK, with its largest centre in Doncaster being the equivalent size of six football pitches.
"It's not all about size though. We handle over 350 million units a year and we're sticklers for precision. That's why we operate the most state-of-the- art technology of its kind in Europe," the Next spokesman added.
In July Next reported that it had a good first half, achieving sales and profits ahead of expectations, with total sales 10.3 per cent ahead of 2013 as its retail stores and Next Directory online business both delivered significant growth. Profit before tax rose by 19.3 per cent.